Ne ws@Com The News Magazine of Comberton Village College
ISSUE 28, WINTER 2011
PUPILS SHARE XMAS CHEER COMBERTON pupils have pulled out all the stops to brighten Christmas for more than 200 children this year. They put together — individually and as tutor groups - a record-breaking 212 shoeboxes full of goodies as part of this year’s Operation Christmas Child. The brightly-coloured boxes, along with the thousands collected by schools, churches and other groups across the country, will be given to children in developing countries and will almost certainly be the only present they receive this Christmas. The Comberton boxes are filled with sweets, stationery, toys, hats, gloves and scarves and will go to youngsters in Kyrgyzstan, travelling by sea, rail and road to reach children who might otherwise never understand the joy of a
Christmas gift. These boxes make a huge difference to the children who receive them, giving them a gift for Christmas, where it normally wouldn't be a reality. As well as this, it shows them that other people do care. Comberton’s target this year was 200 boxes and students in the new Year 12 busied themselves organised the collection from around the school. They expected quite a challenge but an amazing number of people got involved, from individuals to forms and families in and outside the school. Thank you to everybody involved, perhaps next year we can break the record again, so please keep collecting those empty shoeboxes and presents for 2012! Rob Durant (Year 12)
Comberton logo gets another facelift CVC has a new logo. It was felt that while the logo of the school should remain essentially similar to the one that has been in use for the past 26 years, it was a sensible time to update the design. The new logo is designed to link with the branding of the Sixth Form and provide an identity that is more coherent, fresh and contemporary. It will also be used as a basis for further branding and graphic design across the school's continuing expansion. This will include a re-vamp of the website so watch this space! It’s a far cry from Comberton’s original logo, The Trusty Servant (right), which was in use from 1960 when the college opened, until 1985. At the time, The Trusty Servant, taken from a painting at Winchester College, was said to serve us in two ways:
1. To symbolise the Village College as the Trusty Servant of our community and neighbourhood. 2. To be for us a reminder of some of the qualities to be found in a good citizen: The Ass's Ears indicate Patience, particularly with criticism. The Pig's Snout suggests Adaptability, a willingness to make the best of what comes. The Padlock ensures Discretion, lack of gossip or malicious talk. The Stag's Feet denote Swiftness in action, Promptness. The Tools in the left hand show a readiness to Work. The Open Hand is the sign of Faith, Sincerity and Trust. The Sword and Shield are emblems of Courage and of a determination to defend one's principles.
Seeing what’s on offer ON Thursday 3rd November, Comberton Sixth Form opened its doors to secondary school pupils who are in their final year of GCSE courses from across Cambridgeshire. It is estimated that almost 1,000 prospective students attended the open evening to see what the Comberton Sixth Form had to offer. The large variety of subjects available as options for study in further education were displayed in various classrooms and private study areas in the fantastic new purpose-built facilities. Alongside the conventional studies available at Comberton currently such as English, Maths and Science, it also offers subjects such as Psychology, Photography and Pre-U courses; all of which drew strong interest from the potential students of Comberton Sixth Form and present exciting prospects for all. With such huge numbers attending the open evening, the future seems bright for CSF, despite only officially opening at the start of the current academic year! Matt Clark (11R) Three weeks earlier the school was full of Year 6 youngsters and their families as they had a chance to look around all the departments and sample what Comberton has to offer before they applied to start in September 2012.
GETTING THE LOWDOWN: Year 11 students talk to CVC sixth formers. Hundreds of current pupils were on hand, along with staff, as primary youngsters conducted science experiments, played Olympic sports, ate medievalstyle food as well as sampling modern-day flapjack and soup, among many other things on offer.
Having a laugh COMBERTON Leisure has been nominated for a comedy award. Following the success of the regular Custard Comedy shows, the venue is up for a One Night Stand Award from television station Dave, which prides itself on being 'The Home of Witty Banter'. You can vote for Comberton Leisure by following the link from the Comberton Leisure website, www.combertonleisure.com or go to A CLOSER LOOK: Dave's Facebook page at Comberton under the micro- www.facebook.com/davewittybanter?sk=app_195816540494081 scope at Open Evening. There are prizes to be won for voters too!
INSIDE THIS ISSUE Still Outstanding — Page 3
Be Afraid, Very Afraid — Page 15
Dream Title for Inventor — Page 3
Pupils Serve up Lovely Cuppa — Page 15 Lifelong Learning — Page 15
New Attraction — Page 3 Carers Speak Out — Page 5 Children in Need — Page 5 DofE Update — Page 5 Science Round-Up — Page 6 Looking at Freud & Justice — Page 5 Green Projects — Page 7 Playing by the Book — Page 8
Sombre in the Sun — Page 17 Mad Dash Round Town — Twice — Page 17 Eyes on the Prize — Page 18 Leaders and Pupils Learn Key Skills — Page 18
The Festive Spirit — Page 9
CVC Bouncers Hit New Heights — Page 18 Rising Star — Page 19
Sharing Good Practice Benefits
Squad Marches On — Page 19
Everyone — Pages 10 &11
The Best in Britain — Page 20
At the Cutting Edge — Page 13
England Call for Ali — Page 20
Grease — Page 9
Working Together is Fun for All — Page 13
The next comedy night at Comberton Leisure is this Friday, December 16, and features Miles Jupp, who might be better known to parents with children of a certain age as Archie the Inventor from Balamory! Miles has also appeared in award-winning BBC sit-coms Rev and The Thick of It as well as in Mock the Week, Have I got News for You and Michael Mcintyre's Comedy Roadshow. Please note that Miles is doing a 'grown-ups only' set for us! Tickets are £8 in advance or £10 on the door, but it's for over-18s only. Fund-raising is currently under way for a new lighting desk as the old one had become quite temperamental. To ensure the production of Grease earlier this term went smoothly we were lent the money to buy a replacement. Now we have to pay back the CVC Trust Fund — the charitable trust set up to help CVC pupils and the wider community through fundraising appeals. A group of young people have already put on an event for the lighting desk appeal which raised more than £300, but we still need about £1,400 more.
Designed and edited by Judy Czylok. Contact: publicity@comberton.cambs.sch.uk
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ON THE BILL: Miles Jupp, also known as Archie from Ballamory, will be at Comberton Leisure this week.
Still outstanding! OFSTED is changing (again). A new framework is due to come into place for the inspection of schools and Academies from January 2012. It is simpler in its format, focussing simply on the core areas of Achievement, Teaching, Behaviour and Leadership. One part of the new framework is the confirmation that, as a general principle, schools deemed to be ‘outstanding’ at their last inspection will not routinely receive a further inspection. Rather, Ofsted will keep an eye on standards of such schools/Academies on an annual basis. If they are satisfied that these remain very high and that the school would be highly likely still to be rated as ‘outstanding’ if
it were re-inspected, then it is usual that nothing would happen (there are some circumstances when inspections could still happen regardless of this). Implicitly, Ofsted are clarifying that schools with an ‘outstanding’ judgement remain in that category if
Dream title for inventor CONGRATULATIONS to new sixth former, Eleanor Simpson, who was the East Anglian regional winner of Sound Asleep’s national young inventor competition. The Dream Lab competition seeks out up-and-coming inventors and designers and has a first prize of £30,000. Eleanor came up with her fantastic invention for her first Product Design (Graphics) project. Pupils were given just four weeks to research and develop a completely original idea for the Dream Lab competition. Eleanor has never done Product Design before and didn’t take a technology subject at GCSE. She did exceptionally well to come up with such an original idea and to present it so professionally. Her invention — Proglow glasses — would allow the wearer to read books that are projected on to the ceiling while they relax in bed. Eleanor said: “When I was little, I had toy spy glasses which had lights on the sides. The idea for my Dream Lab entry stemmed from there.” Should this idea have been developed further, it had huge potential. Content could be uploaded to the glasses via a USB port hidden in the frame, so as well as reading books, you could watch television. This idea stood out against more than 700 other entrants and was one of only nine put before judges, Trevor Baylis OBE and Ortis Deley (of The Gadget Show). When it came to the final hurdle, however, Eleanor’s Proglow glasses were pipped to the post by the Snug Hug; a fun, cuddly soft animal toy that can be attached to a child car seat for young children. We think Eleanor’s idea was more original, and it has certainly inspired the Product Design group! Kim Allen
New attraction THE new library space has created a buzz among the students and it has been very busy at break and lunch all term despite the mild weather. The library's poetry competition, to celebrate National Poetry Day, attracted a lot of entries. The judges, Mr Shelley and Mr Allsworth, were very impressed with the high standard of the entries. The winner was Hannah Kilford, of 8L, and the runner-up prize went to Alexandra Hirsz, of 7C. A big thank you to all who entered, as well as the judges for giving up their time.
ORIGINAL IDEA: Eleanor Simpson came up with the Proglow glasses (left).
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nothing happens. This is now clearly relevant to Comberton Village College. Our last inspection was four years ago. In a different framework, we might now be expecting an inspection. However, given the rules of the game now, a lack of an inspection implies that Ofsted are clear what would be the outcome if we were re-inspected: the judgement would remain ‘outstanding’. Of course, this is no version of a reason for complacency of any sort. Rather, it means we focus clearly on how we can always seek to provide the very best education for all young people in our care and support them to achieve at the highest levels. That is, after all, what we are all about. Stephen Munday, Executive Principal
BUSY PLACE: Comberton’s new library.
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Carers speak out JORDAN Till, Sophie Johnson and I did a presentation to PEOPLE People about young carers and what struggles they face in school. A film crew showed up to film us for Children In Need. During the presentation we were going to show a film that we made last year, but we had many technical difficulties so we had to improvise!
We have done many presentations to teachers and other professionals, but this was the first time we did it to pupils so we were all a bit nervous about chatting to them as well as being on the telly. Once it was over Jordan had to rush off so they could carry on filming and the rest of us were very keen to get an autograph from Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen. It was shown on the One Show to people all over Britain on the 26th October and we were all very excit-
ed to see ourselves! This month we have been talking to year groups across the school in assemblies. On behalf of Jordan, Sophie and myself we'd like to say thank you to all the PEOPLE People who turned up to the presentation, the film crew and Laurence. Florence Murray (9C)
Pyjama power ON Friday November 18 Comberton Sixth Form participated in a dress down into your pyjamas day to raise money for the Children In Need appeal. The Year 12 students paid £1 for the privilege of parading their exotic bedroom attire around the Sixth Form block for the day. Mr Evans, Head of Sixth form, was impressed by the vast array of colourful dressing gowns, all-in-one pyjama suits and floral patterned pyjama bottoms on show and even fined anyone the sum of £2 for not being suitably dressed! The Year 12 Comberton Charity and Community Committee — C4 for short — who organised the event, collected a fantastic total of £210. We would just like to say a big thank you to GIVE US YOUR MONEY: For Children in Need. everyone in Year 12 who took part in the day and to all of the teaching staff who put up with us wearing our PJs in their lessons. Becky Thomas, who came up with the idea for the pyjama day, said that “we have to look after all under-privileged children who are caught up in the poverty trap and what better way to do this by raising money for Children in Need — every penny we have raised will make a massive difference.” Plans for next year are already in development, including making an enormous Pudsey Bear Pizza and charging for each slice! Alice Waller C4 Charity Committee
Spot the bears! THE Charity Prefects helped to raise money for Children in Need. In the library they drew outlines of Pudsey and Blush and sold spots to fill them in. They sold 152 spots to fill our Pudsey and Blush bears at 50p each and a random spot was picked to win the spot’s owner a Pudsey cuddly toy. The winning spot belonged to Madeleine Tomlin, of 9L. Runner-up prizes of Pudsey and Blush pin badges went to Sophie Norman, of 7I, and Yasmin Maio, of 11T. The staff winner of a Children in Need mug was Bethan Smith. Thank you to all those who took part in the Children in Need fundraising in the library. Look out for another spotty library in November next year!
DofE still breaking records LAST year was another successful year for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award at CVC. Following another record year for participant numbers enrolling, we were able to offer the award to pupils at Melbourn Village College. In total 287 students enrolled on the award and completed their expeditions with us. On top of that, 128 students from the previous year completed their awards, representing a 60% completion rate (compared to the 47% county average). We are seeking to improve this by changing our organisation this year so that more emphasis is placed on completing the other sections and the expedition then becomes the climax of the award. A very big well done to all students who have gained their awards and a very big thank you to the volunteers who make the award possible. Information on this year's award can be found at www.cvcdofe.org Leigh Bellis
NEW FORMAT: The expedition will become the climax of the award.
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Racing cars . . .
How physics works
IN Science Club, Ms Harden challenged us to make a car that was elastic and air powered. We had just 35 minutes to create a car out of card, plastic bottles, elastic bands and bottle lids. The champions of the tournament were Jonathan Hutchinson and George Ambery with the greatest distance travelled, 99cm. George Ambery (7V) STARTING GRID: The teams and their cars line-up.
TWENTY-ONE students went on a trip to the Cavendish Laboratory with Mr Willder to participate in the 'Physics at Work' day. It's an exhibition introducing uses of physics in everyday life and applications of physics in research and industry. There are exhibits presented by people working at different companies involved in research and development. The exhibition gives students further ideas about the kind of jobs you can do if you have a qualification in science. Most people’s favourite was the Rolls-Royce exhibition and to some people's disappointment, it wasn't the car. Rolls Royce’s key markets are aerospace, marine and energy. The presentations explained how the laws of physics allow gas turbine jet engines to work. Unlike other presentations, they gave us some parts of a jet engine and our task was to re-model it. There were also experiments, which made the whole presentation really enjoyable. We also looked at a lot of other exhibitions including 'Team Crocodile' — a fuel-efficient car, Mott MacDonald and Material Science. The day was fun and we all learned a lot about physics and what kind of jobs you can do. Yinnie Chan (10B)
Science is golden! HAVE you heard of Science CREST Awards? They are organised by the British Science Association and encourage students all over the UK to plan, organise and lead their own science investigations. This year, Yinnie and I are working together on our Gold CREST Award which means we have to work for at least 100 hours researching a field of science of our choice. We want to make this our best science project yet so we couldn't say “No” when we were invited to attend a Gold CREST Award Conference at the Marshall
Aeronautic Science Centre last month. Yinnie and I were the only secondary school students at the Conference, but even the adults looking at the projects were impressed by their quality. The conference room was set up so each Gold Crest Award project was displayed on a poster board with a summary and report of their findings. This made it easy to see that the topics of the Gold Crest Awards were very varied. Some students researched bacteria while others decided to spend their 100 hours looking at robotics and programming. Personally, we were inspired by the investigation that
designed (and tested) a chocolate coating for breakfast cereals. All the Gold CREST Awards were at a level higher than A-level science and we even found a sixth-former who had her research for Cystic Fibrosis published in a medical journal! This not only sets the standard high for us, but makes us excited about the discoveries we could find. A big thank you to Miss Frampton for helping us brainstorm great questions to ask the sixth formers and Miss Robertson for coming with us. We give an even bigger Thank You to Miss Segal for organising the trip for us. Anne-Lucie Bugain (10B)
Looking at Freud and justice A GROUP of 46 Year 12 psychology The Old Bailey (now officially students and four staff visited The called the Central Criminal Court) Old Bailey and The Freud Museum has been London's principal crimiin London last month. nal court for centuries. It hears The Freud Museum, at 20 cases from the City of London and Maresfield Gardens in Hampstead, the Greater London area, as well was the home of Sigmund Freud as those sent to it from England and his family when they escaped and Wales. Security there is very the Nazi annexation of Austria in strict and everyone had to enter 1938. It remained the family home through a scanner. Different stuThe Old Bailey’s until Anna Freud, the youngest Scales of Justice. dents saw a selection of cases, daughter, died in 1982. It contains including a gang-related murder, a many antiquities that Freud collected during shooting, a parent on trial for killing their son, his lifetime, as well as his famous study (preand some even saw the Stephen Lawrence served exactly as it was) and the psychoanamurder trial. We saw witnesses being examlytic couch, on which all of Freud's patients ined by the barristers, which links in with our were analysed. We looked round the house, current topic looking at eyewitness testimony. watched some home movie footage and talked Hopefully all the students came away with a with members of staff about various aspects of greater appreciation of the contribution of Freud’s work, such as the Oedipus Complex Freud's work to our understanding of self, as and how it relates to modern society and differwell a realistic idea of how court trials are run. ing family units. Eleanor Jenkins
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Pupils take on Einstein! MORE than 70 students took part in a Maths and Physics workshop, where they explored Einstein's theory of special relativity and how recent research has brought the Einstein world into disarray. You may have heard that scientists in Italy have measured particles to travel faster than the speed of light, thus implying that time travel is possible! The Year 11 and Year 12 students watched a documentary on the big screen in the Sixth Form Lecture Theatre, and then worked their way through a variety of problems which combined Maths and Physics understanding. The workshop gave Year 11s the chance to experience the level of work required at Sixth Form and talk with Year 12s. For Year 12s it offered an insight into current high-profile research, as well as developing problem-solving skills. All this in two hours! Tea, coffee and biscuits helped keep focus and participation levels high! Euan Willder
Green projects IN Activities week in July, there were two RECO environment group activities taking place.
Trash to treasure AT the beginning of March 2012, the RECO environment group will be holding their yearly Green Week. To raise awareness of our recycling scheme, we will be asking you to design costumes made from recycled materials. We will be holding workshops in the run-up to the non-school uniform day to help students to design and make effective costumes or accessories. At the end of the week those with the best outfits will take part in a fashion show and a panel of judges will award prizes. We are hoping that some of the more creative students will use their ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECTS: Pupils show teacher skills to re-fashion clothes as well as using an inventive array Sarah Wheatman from Bourn Primary the work that of recycled materials. went on in Activities Week.
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Conservation week involved clearing an area of scrubland, creating a pathway, preparing the ground for a pond and providing houses for animals and insects. The plan was to renovate CVC’s wildlife area to make it as attractive as possible to a wide range of wildlife. Having worked with the Wildlife Trust on a 14-week programme to learn more about enhancing local natural habitats, this was our big opportunity to make a difference. At the same time, for Get Creative, 12 students designed and made a large patchwork flag from recycled materials. Most importantly, this had to include logos from CVC and our local feeder primary schools. (Collectively these are known as Network 11). To make the flag, we cut out four square patches and sewed them together by hand. To complete the flag, we needed to sew four of these bigger patches together and then arrange them before sewing the rest. The flag is currently on display in the foyer, to celebrate the union of Network 11 and to symbolise the importance of environmental issues to each and every one of us. On November 10, we invited Network 11 and anyone who had been involved in the two RECO environment group activities to come in and celebrate our achievements. The pupils talked about how they had made their ‘green’ flag and what was involved in Conservation Week. We also learned about what some of the primary schools had been doing to support the environment. Bourn Primary School pupils have been growing their own vegetables this year and they have just done a series of spot checks on classrooms to make sure that everyone is remembering to save energy and turn off the lights.
KNOW YOUR BOOKS: Both Comberton teams won prizes at the Kids Lit Quiz.
Playing by the book TWO teams represented CVC at the internationally-renowned Kids Lit Quiz. Both teams made an outstanding debut as they were awarded an impressive third and fifth place. The Kids Lit Quiz is an annual literature quiz for students aged 10-13 where teams of four students answer 100 questions on children's literature divided into 10 categories, which vary each year. Quizzes are held nationwide to find national champions who then go on to compete in the World Final. Twenty-two teams from 14 schools took part in the Central England heat at Kimbolton School, including last year's winners, Aylesbury Grammar School. Old and new teams alike fiercely fought to become the champions; all 88 contenders' passion for reading was evident as their literary knowledge was truly put to the
test. Teams worked together to answer wide-ranging literary questions across categories such as Adventure, Donkeys and Fruit. CVC1 came into their own on Round 4, Xmas, with a perfect score of 10. The four team members, Tilly Braven-Ayres, Ellen Petre, Daniel Chaplin and Julia Wilkinson, were each awarded a copy of Ministry of Pandemonium by Chris Westwood. However, CVC2 were not to be outdone and won Round 7, Females. Anna Bithell, Sophie Coomes, Sean Coyle and Charlotte Denney also won copies of Ministry of Pandemonium and continued to apply the pressure as they steadily climbed the leaderboard. Individuals also triumphed during the competition. Daniel Chaplin won a cash prize in one of the bonus rounds and Julia Wilkinson, winner of the authors
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round, was awarded copies of Flightsend and The Nowhere Girl by the author Linda Newbury in person. The tension rose as a mere point separated the top three teams in the final rounds. Quizmaster Wayne Mills commented on the exceptionally high scores — a true accolade from someone who has not set the same question twice during the 20 years of competition! Despite persistent pressure from CVC, Aylesbury Grammar retained their title and were awarded first and second place. Only 3.5 points lay between CVC1 and the winners! Their valiant effort was rewarded with £40 of book tokens. Both teams’ enthusiasm and enjoyment was evident throughout the day, so much so that they left vowing to compete again next year. Ann Roberts, English Dept
A spectacular show! SCENES FROM THE SHOWS: (from left) We meet again, the Grand Finale on Opening Night and Sandy meets the Pink Ladies. to find them hitting the heights soon — they undoubtbanter — the deft directorial touch of new Head of AUDIENCES for CVC's latest spectacular edly have a "wow" factor, an "X" factor, maybe even a Drama, Mr Frost very visibly a presence here. musical 'Grease' were dancing in the aisles "Strictly Come Dancing" factor! In short, this production of 'Grease' was a 'tour de and singing the 'doo-wop' refrains as they The red Morgan convertible was a star turn itself and a force' and will probably reign as definitive in the local left this superbly entertaining performance testament to the technical ingenuity of Jay, Richard annals for some time to come. Congratulations to the and Kit, who built the movable frame for the car shell. Parker-Page-Frost production team who have created of fifties froth floating above perennial high Charlotte Carter's choreography gave us irresistibly a piece of musical brilliance, mining the many talents school teenage truth-telling. eye-catching routines expertly executed. It was a of the outstanding cast who will certainly remember The 'John' & 'Travolta' casts for the show were unidelight to watch the fluid movement about the stage of their roles for ever…shwaddy wah, de bop, de bop formly polished, professional and perfectly attired in the vast cast as they gave us ably American-accented boop! Mary Martin, Deputy Principal their spotted skirts, red petticoats, 'hard' leather jackets and iconic skin-tight jeans, Converse trainers and niftily and nattily tied neckerchiefs! Against a set of scaffolding and a smoulderingly seductive submerged 'pit-stop' garage, the vocalists and chorus exploded on to the stage with exuberance, energy and endless effervescence. Number after number exceeded expectations in taking us back in time to an era of nostalgia for adolescent rites of passages focusing on fashionable hairstyles, cool dance moves and 'rumble' threats over girls …plus ça change! Favourites such as Greased Lightnin', Freddie My Love, Summer Lovin', Hopelessly Devoted to You and You Are the One that I Want did not disappoint. 'The Page Boyz' delivered what we have come to expect: sensational syncopated rhythm accompaniRAVE REVIEWS: ment with inventive improvised solos. This is no Both casts’ perforordinary band — perched aloft above the garage, mances were well they were in another time zone, a "rock 'n' roll" received. combo with a slick jazz edge. Wouldn't be surprised
The festive spirit
FUND-RAISING: The Mozambique and South Africa volunteers during their 24-hour Spinathon.
HUNDREDS of people flocked to Comberton’s annual Christmas Bazaar, which this year moved back to the main school because of the Grease shows in the Performance Hall. There was a huge variety of stalls to browse for those special Christmas gifts as well as plenty of fun with Santa in his grotto face-painting, the ever-popular chocolate tombola and the chance to try and spot the CVC staff behind the Santa disguise. The family and friends of the Mozambique volunteers, who were in the middle of their 24-hour Spinathon, manned a fan- TEMPTING TREATS: At the tastic cafe, where there was also the chance to buy homeYear 12 stall in aid of Dogs made soup cooked up by Year 10 catering students. for the Disabled.
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Sharing good practic On 1 September this year, Comberton became one of the first 100 ‘Teaching Schools’ in the country. The concept is based on the same principles as that of ‘Teaching Hospitals’. Some of the best-performing schools in the country with a strong track record in teacher training and on-going staff professional development are asked to take on a key role in the schools’ system. As with Teaching Hospitals, the expectation is that such schools should be clear exemplars of good practice and should help significantly in the professional training and
development of school staff. It is a belief that the best people to train staff are those already working in schools. Quite rightly, there is a suggestion that Teaching Schools should form ‘Alliances’ with other schools to bring in further expertise and capacity to be able to make a strong impact. Comberton has forged an alliance with certain other Lead Partners: Swavesey Village College, Parkside Community College, Saffron Walden County High School and Histon and Impington Junior School. We will work also with a wider group of schools. Between us, we will seek to strengthen and develop further our
CVC are leading the way. . . Comberton Village College and Saffron Walden County High School have taken the lead in providing school-based accredited teacher training since 2003 through the Saffron Walden County High and Comberton Village College Employment Based Initial Teacher Education Scheme. In a partnership of nine local schools, the two schools set up a GTP programme with a core mission to train high quality-graduates to join the teaching profession, meeting local need, particularly in shortage subjects. This GTP scheme has proved to be extremely successful. Last year 80% of our GTP students found employment in the South East, with more than 60% finding employment within our partnership. Many go on to make a huge impact in their employing school, often rising quickly to middle management positions. Since 2008 Comberton has taken the role of lead school and overseen the co-ordination of the scheme, under the leadership of Training Manager Kath Goudie, who said: “It’s been an absolute privilege to work with such dedicated people who want to enter the teaching profession through our GTP scheme. “Those we recruit come from a wide range of backgrounds, from already working in schools through to business or raising a family. The scheme allows the graduate teacher to really work within the heart of the school, making them feel part of the team and giving them an excellent understanding of life in school before taking up their first post. “With schools taking on a greater and more direct role in teacher training in the future I think this partnership has put Comberton Village College at the heart of any new developments, and I hope we can extend our existing provision in the near future, working with the Teaching School Alliance.” GTP teachers seem to enjoy the scheme and more than 90% are still in teaching three years after finishing training, which is well above the national retention figure. This means that Comberton and other schools in the partnership hang on to these high-quality teachers in the long term. A recent recruit to from the GTP scheme now working at Comberton Village College has this to say about the scheme:“I was on the GTP scheme last year and while it was hard work, the extensive school-based experience put me in an excellent position when applying for my first teaching job. You receive fantastic support from both school and course-based mentors which allows for an introduction to teaching at your own pace and training and development tailored to your needs throughout the year.” The scheme in currently recruiting for 2012-13 and although there are lots of applications from people wishing to teach the arts or humanities, the scheme is still actively seeking recruits in MFL, Physics, Chemistry and MEETING LOCAL NEED: Four graduates of the scheme are among several currently working at Maths in particular. Further information about our scheme can be found at www.gtp.combertonvc.org Comberton.
TRAINING TOMORROW’S TEACHERS: Trainee teache
At the heart of th THIS year is a “Design and Development Year” for the first cohorts of Teaching Schools and one of our goals is to help identify for other colleagues and other school contexts how best to establish, promote and nurture a Research and Development culture. Lawrence Stenhouse’s description of research as “systematic enquiry made public” is at the heart of the enterprise which suggests that formalised enquiry should be the basis for school improvement. A classic research cycle comprises analysis, agreement of priorities, exploration of what is known, adoption of theory of change, application of theory to strategy and monitoring of evidence gathered leading on to further analysis. At CVC, we have a 20-year history of employing this cycle at different levels in our classrooms and as a vehicle for professional dialogue about all aspects of teaching and learning. This history has been acknowledged by the Teaching Development Agency as valuable background for us to help lead the way for other schools to develop the same kind of enquiry-based culture. We are, of course, not alone in our enterprise. Our Alliance partners and colleagues in other schools in our research network (CamSTAR), together with links with Cambridge University lecturers through Initial Teacher Training and our Critical Friend, Sue Brindley form a
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ce benefits everyone work in these key areas that are seen as the remits of Teaching Schools: Initial Teacher Training (both through our strategic partnership with Cambridge University Faculty of Education and our own Graduate Teacher Training Programme) Continuing Professional Development School-based Research Leadership Development School-to-school Support, including a new designation of staff, known as ‘Specialist Leaders of Education’ who will help to lead in this area of work Comberton already does a great deal in these areas. This
ers have lessons of their own at CVC.
he action
new designation is a chance to take this work to a further level. Some of these developments are reported below. There will be others as well. One clear spin-off is that it should help education here at Comberton to strengthen further still. It will help us to continue to recruit the very best teachers in the country and provide very powerful professional development for many of our own staff. The pupils will see the benefit, and so we should not hesitate to engage with this. Stephen Munday, Executive Principal
Vital work happens in middle MIDDLE leaders are found in every school across a wide range of roles and leading teams of varying sizes. They may be responsible for leading a subject, a year group, a key stage or have a whole school responsibility. In a small primary school they may be leading three or four people, whereas in a large secondary school it could be up to 20 people. Whatever their role and school context they play an essential role in leading change and innovation and ensuring that it is embedded in the school. If a school is to have sustainable long term improvement then it needs middle leaders who are skilled in their area of expertise and also understand leadership and its role in school improvement. Comberton has long recognised the importance of middle leaders in ensuring a successful education for all pupils. In 2009 we became the lead school in a pilot for a new middle leadership programme being developed by The National College for School Leadership. After a comprehensive training and accreditation process I started delivering the new programme to the first cohort at Comberton. The programme has grown and this year I am working with three separate groups, more than 40 Middle leaders from a variety of schools in Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and Suffolk. The programme is based on a leadership development framework written by The National College for School Leadership, focussing on the leadership of teaching and learning. Participants on the programme are supported in a number of ways. There are eight facilitated sessions that take place after the school day at Comberton, each focussing on a particular
theme of leadership and how it relates to improving teaching and learning. The session is centred on a “think piece” article that draws on research into the best practice in that area. Participants are involved in a range of activities relating the ideas to their own school and practice, understanding leadership in other schools and critiquing the ideas. A comprehensive set of resources on the National College for School Leadership website supports participants. The programme aims to develop reflective, critical thinking in middle leaders and they show this through a reflective journal recording their developing understanding of leadership. These reflections can be used towards accreditation for a Master’s degree. They also receive the support of a Learning Coach in their own school, usually a senior leader who supports their understanding of leadership in their own school. They are also a key source of support for the Leadership Challenge. The second half of the programme is a Leadership Challenge, based in their own school. This allows them to deepen their learning and gain practical experience of leadership. It involves them in using analytical skills to identify an issue of Teaching and Learning within their school, devising a strategy for addressing that issue and then carrying out leadership of the implementation of that strategy. It is a key element of the course as it is an opportunity to carry out an authentic piece of leadership and have an impact on teaching and learning within their school. The Challenge is presented to the senior leadership team of the school. The programme finishes with the middle leaders reflecting on their development onwards into the next academic year and successful participants receive a certificate of completion to show they have met the requirements of this NCSL accredited programme. The intention now is to continue to expand the programme, increasing the numbers of middle leader participants and to develop local opportunities for higher degree accreditation. It will continue to play an important role in the work of the Cambridge Area Teaching School. Mark Soames,
h collegiate environment for ideas sharing, practice ting and development. well as acting as consultants to schools who wish to rn how to establish or improve their research culture, are currently involved in contributing towards a TDA ject along with seven other schools nationally to crea support “Kit-Bag” for research communities. upplying material to stimulate colleagues elsewhere ecognise the benefits of researching your own site, shall be reflecting on and reporting some of our own cessful work in areas such as: Single-sex classes in glish, Student Health and Quitting oking/Improving Diet, Classroom Talk and Thinking ls, Motivation and Learning Habits, Use of hnology and Independent Learning and many other ics. search in schools often begins as Action Research, ere small scale enquiries involving lesson observans, questionnaires, pupil interviews/focus groups, rk sample scrutiny or assessment data analysis es place against a theoretical/academic backdrop. parently there are five universities nationally looking mitating our CamSTAR model. This is an exciting e for research in schools and we are fortunate to be ced at the centre of the action! Mary Martin, Deputy Principal MEET IN THE MIDDLE: A Middle Leaders’ meeting at Comberton.
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Assistant Principal
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Working together is fun for all At CVC collaboration is not a buzz-word but a realiother in helping to set up the day, as well as workty in so many different ways. ing with the Year 4s in their group. Teachers collaborate with teachers at other This is now an annual event; we look forward to schools and organisations, there are collaborations welcoming some pupils who are currently in Year 4 between different departments here at CVC and to CVC later in the year. pupils often produce collaborative work that is Here is a review of last summer’s event, written by more exciting and powerful than any of the individuals could have created by themselves. The Year 4 Maths Collaboration involves several different types of examples of people working together. It was originally created by teachers from three schools: CVC, Bourn Primary School and Caldecote Primary School and those teachers continue to collaborate each year to update the materials and to prepare for the day. On the day of the Collaboration pupils from our partner primary schools come together to work on mathematical problems. Each group of Year 4 pupils also has a pupil in Year 9 from CVC working with them. The Year 9 pupils have to collaborate with each TRICKY TASK: The ‘Circles’ activity was the hardest.
some of the pupils who were involved: “We went to a maths collaboration for Year 4 pupils at Comberton Village College. We paired up and worked with two other children from another primary school, completing a lot of activities that involved maths. “Our favourite challenge was ‘Dominoes’. We had to make a square using 10 dominoes with 8 spots on each side of the square. Our group found it quite hard at first but with team work we soon managed it. We also managed to do it with 9 spots per side. “The trickiest activity was ‘Circles’. We tried to make three perfect circles out of three large parts of a circle and three small parts of a circle. Only one group managed to do it. “Other fun activities were measuring a ‘giant’, Furbles problems and a number grid challenge. “We enjoyed the morning of maths because we worked in a team with pupils from other schools and were challenged!” Year 4 Pupils, Bourn Primary School
At the cutting edge FOR the past few Wednesdays, we at the Gadgeteering club (made up of Year 9s and 10s) have been busy at work making and experimenting with some new hardware and software, provided and developed by Microsoft Research, which hardly anyone in the UK has tried before. Each group (of about three people) received a box of parts for countless things we could make. We decided to attempt making a camera, and recently some people have been making stopwatches. The easy-to-use software allows us to program (in C#) anything we need. The programs are easy to pick up and are great fun. Each Wednesday we arrive at the DT Design Studio where we all (well, some of us) sit and listen as Miss Smith goes through a powerpoint of what we're doing that sesson. After a while of (relatively) hard work, we all get biscuits! Of course, the boys rush there first and the biscuits are gone in a blink of an eye. After we've got the programming code down (some people seem to be doing this faster than others) there comes the moment of truth — the testing! We plug in the hardware and cross our fingers as it starts up. When it doesn't work, it's just a simple case of looking on the computer COMPUTER WORK: Pupils experiment with new Microsoft products. at where you went wrong in the programming, and then fixing it. blast. We're so happy to have a chance to do things like this and we look forward to However, when it does work, it fills you with pride. what's in store in the future! Florence Noble (9M) So far in the club, we've managed to make a camera that takes pictures and saves Ms Smith said: “The club is a real success — we are trialling the hardware and them to an SD Card as 'Pic1', 'Pic2', 'Pic3' etc. and has an LED light that goes green resources for MR. When we get the hang of it, we’ll make gadgets of our own when you turn it on, red when it's 'busy' and back to green after; and on the screen choice, and all go to MR for a day to show them what we’ve done! Thanks to all the we've made it say 'Digital Camera' in beautiful yellow text. All in all, we're having a pupils who are working so hard (and eating so many biscuits!)”
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Council are voted in ensure that they listen to the views of their year group; they will always be available to listen to students' ideas and questions. The Council will meet each week during Wednesday lunchtime in RPE2, so please feel free to drop in!
TWO sisters have become the first siblings in different years to be elected to Comberton’s School Council at the same time. Poppy Bussian was elected to represent Year 10, along with Gareth Nunns, while younger sister Grace and Samuel Serby are the new Year 7 voices on the council. Elsewhere, Emily Dowsett and Ben Whelan were chosen for Year 8 and Vicky McNamee and Jack O’Reilly for Year 9. They will join the head prefects, Peter Atkin and Laura Tregidgo, for regular meetings to discuss a whole range of issues which students are concerned about and are looking forward to their role in the year ahead. The previous School Council led on significant changes being made to the school rules regarding coats inside. A trial of the new rule was conducted and both staff and students were happy with the changes. Our Year 10 members made a very mature and articulate speech to the County Council regarding local transport; the Council were very impressed with their contribution and it seems that their ideas have been taken into account. The new School Council have much to live up to! Representatives will attend Year Form Council meetings to
Grand designs! OVER a period of two years, BTEC Art and Design students will be actively involved in the design process for the new extension to Kettles Yard gallery in Cambridge. The main part of the build will be an Education Room so the funders are keen to have student input from the start. This is a fantastic opportunity for the students involved. Not only do they get a Subway lunch in town once a month, but they get to see the whole process of designing and building a "Grand Design" at first hand. In 18 months’ time, when the extension is finished, Year 10 BTEC students will have an exhibition of their work in the new gallery and will be included in a glossy book — of which they will all receive a copy. The monthly day workshops cover all aspects of designing
and building a space. The group are working with a professional artist who has come from The Tate in London, architects, archaeologists, and an evaluation team who will chart the developments as they happen. During the November visit, students went from observational drawing, clay work and architectural drawing on graph paper to abstract ideas and painting and into installation work. Next time we will be taking our Marigolds and digging in the Roman remains underneath the gallery with a team of archaeologists. Students are recording everything for Unit 18 of the Art and Design programme back in school and Kettles Yard are paying for everything! Look out for articles and photos of our adventures here as we progress into the project.
COUNCIL LINE-UP: The newlyelected members of the School Council.
Year 8 get their skates on . . . YEAR 8 had a fantastic opportunity to go roller-skating at Bury St Edmunds. When we got there we put our skates, wrist and knee pads on and hit the skating rink. Some people were a little bit wobbly at first, but soon got into the swing of things with help from the instructors and the teachers who came with us. After about half the time we had a cold buffet dinner with sausage rolls, sandwiches and crisps and the best cupcakes! It was nice to have a break after all that skating. When we had finished eating we all played Dodge Ball where we would all skate across the rink and people would throw balls and the idea of the game was not to get hit. Halfway through they gave Mr Wheeler a giant ball and most people got caught out! We all had a great time; I think the teachers enjoyed it too and the staff there were really helpful. I think we should give Miss Jones a big thank you for organising the social and to Miss Kesterton, Mr Bull and Mr Wheeler who helped out on the trip too. Lauren Bradshaw (8M)
Splash!
TAKE AIM: Pupils play Dodge Ball on skates.
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IN September, 200 Year 7 pupils went on a fantastic trip to the Oasis Swimming Pool in Bedford. We had lots of fun going down superb slides, having a blast in the wonderful wave pool and going round the rippling rapids. We all enjoyed it. It was a great way to meet people in other forms and was a great start to Year 7. Ellen Petre (7V)
Pupils serve up lovely cuppa NEW SKILLS: Making stained glass panels at an adult education workshop. HERE TO HELP: Pupils serve staff at the CoPE tea party. YEAR 11 pupils on the CoPE International course planned, catered and served staff at a preChristmas tea party laid on as part of their studies. The group had to work together to make invitations, decide on what food and drinks to serve, who was going to cook what and which role each student took on at the party itself. It was much enjoyed by support staff and those teachers who were able to attend.
Lifelong learning . . . MANY adults have recently attended Saturday day schools at the college as part of the adult education programme and more day schools are planned for 2012. These have included a Stained Glass workshop where participants made a lovely stained glass panel. For those who missed out there will be another workshop on February 25. Other popular workshops have included Mexican Cookery, Excel Spreadsheets and Cooking Indian food for Dinner Parties. The new programme for 2012 starts on the January 9 and details can be found on the college website, by e-mailing the Community Education department, commed@comberton.cambs.sch.uk or phoning on (01223) 264721.
Be afraid, very afraid The Woman in Black trip was nothing like I expected. We set off from school not knowing what to expect. When we arrived in London's West End, a thrill of excitement and nervousness kicked in, as the bright lights glowed on our faces. Before we had left, rumours spread around the school from Years 10 and 11, who had attended the play in previous years. Of course they told us to be very afraid, as it is chilling and scary and to watch out for certain bits. Whenever you hear this type of thing from older students you usually think they’re lying, but in these circumstances, they definitely weren't. We gave in our tickets, took to our seats and the play began. The actual theatre was so small and isolated, it really made you feel like you were there, at Eel Marsh House. As Act 1 continued to make us jump with fear, the audience sank down in their seats. As the first act came to an end, we thought that we had finally overcome the worst of it. But little did we know, more horror was on its way! The second act, with a mixture of sound effects, surprises and really good quality acting, kept us all on the edges of our seats. As we left the theatre, everyone was shaky and paranoid — until we passed the Shrek theatre and I recognised Donkey, who most of us got to meet. Again, we were back on the coach, and there was still a buzz of excited chatter and nervousness. We arrived back at CVC at midnight, and waited for our parents to collect us. It was an overall amazing experience and I recommend it to anybody who gets the chance to go. FEEL THE FEAR: A scene from The One tip: be brave, as even Mr. Southcoat ran to his car for fear of the woman in black! Bella Katz (9B) Woman in Black.
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The Woman in Black trip, where do I start…? Both the pupils and the adults attending the play assumed that it wouldn't scare them. Little did we know that the evening of November 14 would be a night we would never forget! We set off at 5:00pm and enjoyed a lively hour-and-ahalf coach journey that took us to the outskirts of London, the vibrant 'West End'. As everyone got off and thanked the driver for the trip, there was an eerie chill of tension that grew among us. Soon, it became apparent that this play was not for the faint-hearted. A Daily Mirror comment on the play read: "Those who enjoy being scared out of their wits will love this play". After everyone had brought refreshments, and settled down, the play began… The first half of the performance was brilliant and considering it was a three-person-cast — extremely professional. Throughout Act One everyone was on the edge of their seats. The play intended to boggle your mind, as you, eventually, felt like you were a participant in the story. Act Two came around and — yet again — everyone settled down, this time with some trepidation. Act Two was particularly scary as the show built up with various lighting effects, sound effects and inspiring acting. Noone expected the fear that engulfed the audience. The journey back was full of conversation about the play! Personally, I recommend going to see it if you have the opportunity. After all, I had to go to sleep with the light on… Adam Ganczakowski (9C)
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Sombre in the sun WHEN we arrived in Belgium with 85 Year 11 pupils in mid-September, we had our scarves, wellies and coats ready to help us to explore the rich history of the First World War and the memorials created to commemorate the thousands lost in this conflict. We weren’t quite expecting to get sun burnt! All staff agreed that this was the best weather they’d ever experienced on a Battlefields Trip. The weather, however, made no difference to the peaceful and sombre experience of visiting Tyne Cot and Langemark cemeteries. We were proud to see CVC pupils respectfully exploring these beautiful monuments and engaging in conversation about the difference between the English and German cemeteries or the impact of the breathtaking Canadian memorial at Vimy Ridge. We were lucky enough when visiting Ypres to happen upon a full parade of marching bands playing a mixture of uplifting and reflective tunes before the memorable Last Post at the Menin Gate. Another highlight was exploring Hill 62 at Sanctuary Wood. A few members of staff and pupils were brave enough to venture into the dark, damp underground network of tunnels built to connect different trenches on the front line. This was the first trip with CVC for new members of the History Department, Miss Kesterton, and Head of Department Miss Gadd. We look forward to next year’s visit and PEACEFUL: The Tyne Cot cemetery in Flanders. the fascinating discussion we know will take place (as well as the Belgian chocolates…)
Mad dash round town — twice
SEASIDE TOWN: The high street in Sheringham.
Pupils help out heroes CASH IN HAND: The Year 10 Student Council reps hand over a cheque to Help for Heroes’ Robert Altham. YEAR 10 pupils last month presented their chosen charity, Help for Heroes, with £1,000 thanks to their fund-raising efforts in Year 9. Robert Altham, from the charity, spoke in assembly about the work that the charity does to help service personnel injured on duty. The money was raised after each tutor group planned and led an activity, including: a sponsored silence, a photo booth, Sponge the Teacher, cake sale, Red Rose Valentine Delivery and Face Painting for Year 7.
BEFORE the GCSE geography students went to Sheringham everyone had an expectation of what the town would be like. My personal image was of the traditional seaside town, which was riddled with 1930s architecture and an aroma of fish and chips. The bus trip gave us time to reflect on what the trip may be like. Once we reached the outskirts of Sheringham we were welcomed by the 30s brick buildings I had expected. The town was vibrant with traditional businesses and amusements. Once we arrived in the centre on we were ready for battle — we were given four hours to complete our entire books. Everyone rushed down the high street stopping to complete litter and traffic surveys. Only when I had finished the majority of the book and my group took a break for some tea could I really appreciate my surroundings. The elegant town possessed a lot of character in its old-fashioned arcades, pubs and the one and only "chocolate box". The town merged in to the shingle beach, the whole atmosphere lifted by the nonBritish sunny weather! Once we had finished in the nick of time, we regrouped by the vintage Steam train track and were escorted by the teachers to our accommodation away from the centre of the town. The hostel was basic but suited our needs and had a good games room that helped kill some of the remaining hours before bedtime. After dinner we had our prep talk of the activities we would be doing on the next day. We awoke ready for the final push, after a surprisingly good breakfast it was the walk into town to finish our independent data collection. This walk must have looked similar to a parade of Zombies as everyone was tired from the previous day's hard work! First we got on the bus and saw the seals, very enjoyable up until the British weather caught up with us! After warming up on the bus we went straight back to Sheringham town, to the familiar high street. To add to the flavour of the town on the Saturday there was a 1940s fancy dress day. Those final hours went faster than those of the previous day, but all work was completed. As we reached the bus almost a sense of relief came over me. Anyone going on the trip must not be fooled into thinking it is a small holiday; it’s lots of effort and work but a good weekend overall! James Prince (11M)
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CVC bouncers hit new heights TWO pupils who started bouncing in Comberton’s after-school club are making an impact with Cambridge’s newest trampoline club. Georgie McArdle (left bottom), of 8O, and Billy Davies (left top), who is in 9N, are now part of Cambridge Aspire, the newlyformed competitive section of Comberton Tiggers, which is based at the college. Both qualified for the next level in their first competition earlier this term, moving up from Grade G, the first regional level, to F after taking silver and bronze in their respective under-15 competitions at the grading event in Norwich. Year 10 pupil Tate Tucker, meanwhile, moved out of the regional grades after becoming only the second bouncer from the club to qualify for National Grade C, which means she will compete all
over the country in future. A group of Year 11s are also on the up. Amber Cooper won her under-17F competition and qualified for E, as did Hannah Bradshaw who was third in the same class, while Becca Shaw took bronze in under-17E and qualified for D. There was also success for several Comberton pupils competing for the first time at the Brentwood Open. Years 9 Bethan Wright (over-13H silver), Year 8 Rebecca Holah (under-15I bronze) and Year 7 Lucy Bagnall (under-13H bronze) all won individual medals, as did several who had competed before; Greg Kendall (boys’ Under-15F gold), Natasha Howard (Under-13H silver), Georgina McArdle (Under-15G silver) and Billy Davies (Boys’ Under-15G silver).
Eyes on the prize COMBERTON were due to play for a place in the last 16 of a national competition last Friday. The Year 9 and 10 girls’ football team were playing Lynn Grove High School away in Gorleston near Great Yarmouth in the fifth round of the English Schools FA Cup. They reached the last 32 after wins against Sawtry (3-1), County Upper, Bury St Edmunds (3-2) and most recently 4-0 against Neale Wade late last month when two goals each from captain Emma Littlewood and Sophie Ugur saw off the visitors from March. Comberton had a first round bye but since then Emma has managed to score in each round as the team of mainly Year 9s have marched on in a competition which started with 370 teams in September. She scored twice against Sawtry with Katie Reynolds netting the other. Both girls were on target in the narrow victory at Bury in which Emily Arnold scored the later winner before Emma bagged MAKING PROGRESS: Comberton’s under-15 girls’ team are into the fifth round of a national competition. another couple against Neale Wade. Comberton squad: Clara Zaina, Molly Funge, Alba Skottowe, THIS term 18 Year 11 students have been delivering weekly tag rugby ing good progress. They are always excited to see their leaders each Georgie Harnwell, Katie sessions to 60 Year 6 pupils at Monkfield Park Primary School in week and are an energetic and skilful year group. Harmony Hennessy Sims, Katie Reynolds, Cambourne. is one of the Year 11 leaders involved and said: “I have really enjoyed During the sessions they have been teaching the pupils the key skills my primary placement because I like teaching new skills to the primary Emily Arnold, Maddy and rules of the game in preparation for their tag rugby tournament later children. This placement has really helped boost my confidence and the Molloy, Emma Littlewood, Sophie children I have been teaching are improving each week. In the future I this year. The leaders have been a credit to CVC, providing well Ugur, Aisling Rochford, planned, high-quality rugby sessions that have been warmly received at would like to develop my skills and become a PE teacher.” Kate Czylok, Charlotte Monkfield Park. Overall a very positive experience has been had by all. Davies, Nell Clery. The Year 6 students have thoroughly enjoyed themselves and are makAdam Potter, PE Dept
Leaders and pupils learn key skills
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Rising star LAURENCE Temple is racing up the national under-15 squash rankings after a successful autumn of competition. He is up to No 43 after just a year of playing the sport competitively and has already played at the ‘gold’ level National Championships and won his first ‘bronze’ event. That was one of a series of tournaments in East Anglia sponsored by Prince rackets — Laurence won a new one — and former World No 1 Peter Nicol. The ranking points he gained from both events helped his ranking improve from 65 which in itself was a massive leap from the 189th position where he started the year. However, the really hard work starts now for the Year 10 pupil as he moves out of the under-15 section this month. Bob Maison, who is on the England Squash Regional Coaching team, said: “Laurence moves out of the under-15 age group in December which is when our real challenge will start. “The level of athleticism and will to win which makes Laurence stand out in this age group will be more than matched by the older, more developed boys and in many respects it will be like starting all over again. “However, having had this success it is easy to see that Laurence is hungry for more and this should help carry him through the tough technical and physical sessions he has in front of him.” Following his debut at the National Championships where he went down in four sets to an experienced Yorkshire junior, Laurence was in action at the Hunts County club for the regional competition. After two straightforward victories, the No 4 seed came up against local rival Gregory Goodwin the second seed from the host club. Looking for revenge for his 5 set defeat in the recent County Championship Laurence was in commanding form from LAURENCE the outset and dispatched his higher-ranked opponent comfortTEMPLE ably in straight games.
SO FAR SO GOOD: Comberton’s under-15 squad are through to the second stage.
Squad marches on
COMBERTON marched into the second stage of the National Schools under-15 squash tournament with successive 5-0 victories in the group stage followed by a battling win at Brentwood School. They guaranteed their progress after making short work of Bishop’s Stortford Grammar School and then King Edward VI Grammar School, from Chelmsford, but remained undefeated after a 4-1 victory over their closest rivals, Brentwood. Comberton had to concede one game after a last-minute withdrawal, having already moved players up the order to cover another absentee, but that did not stop Sam Hicks, Matt Haynes, Todd Roberts and Laurence Temple winning some very close matches. Agasint Bishop’s Stortford, despite being without No 4 Henry Prime, who was ill, victories for Matt , Sam, Charlie McRobie, Todd and Laurence secured a 5-0 victory, Comberton only dropping one game in the match. King Edward VI Grammar were beaten 5-0 by CVC last season and this year’s line-up, with a well-again Henry coming in for Matt, duly provided a He then faced regional squad team-mate Ben Turmel, from Suffolk, in the final. repeat, with no games dropped. Turmel, ranked 11 nationally, took the opening set, but Laurence changed his tactics in the Team manager Ray Scrivens said: “Once again, even at this early stage of second to level the scores. He lost the third, but again battled back to level the scores and the tournament, CVC have shown themselves to be one of the strongest — then began to dominate with some attacking volleys to clinch a gutsy five-set victory. if not the strongest — school in East Anglia in this age group.”
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ON HIS BIKE: Sam Rolls pedalling his way to the British Championship.
The best in Britain YEAR 8 pupil Sam Rolls is a British Biketrial Champion. The 12-year-old won the British Trials Cup Novice Championship after winning three of the competitions in the five-event series. And that completed a double celebration in the Rolls household as 10year-old brother Charlie also won his section of the championships. Biketrial is the art and skill of riding a special light, strong seatless bike over and between obstacles over a set course called a section, showing balance and fitness. The aim is not to touch the 'section' with anything except the bike's tyres! An observer will watch the rider attempt the section and one penalisation mark is given each time the rider touches the section. Once a rider has lost five marks in a section they are deemed to have failed and their attempt is over. The perfect score is 0, called a "clean," whilst a failure is called a "five". A trial will consist of several sections of two or three laps. Youngsters of all ages compete together depending on their skill level and Sam, who started riding four years ago, won the green competition at the second attempt, having finished third last year. Although he won the opening round in Yorkshire, where his club, Tyke Trial, is based, and the second round after a marathon trek to Fort William in the north of Scotland, missing the third event and finishing second in the fourth meant the pressure was on for the finale, also in Yorkshire. Sam needed to win to take the title and he held his nerve and finished the day with 0 marks to take the championship. As well as competing in the British championships, Sam and Charlie spend most weekends during the season competing in club competitions up and down the country, including at their Yorkshire club. This year Sam also competed abroad for the first time. He rode in the second round of the BIU World Championships in Catolonia, Spain. It was a very unusual Spanish trial consisting of very rainy weather and very difficult muddy sections set along the side of a stream bed. He finished a creditable 14th.
Designed by Judy Czylok, CVC. publicity@comberton.cambs.sch.uk
England call up for Ali Ali Sheppard, in Year 9, has won a place in the England pre-cadet judo squad. The 13-year-old member of Comberton Judo Club, which is based at the college, earned the call-up after some excellent performances at recent events, including finishing fifth at both the Heart of England and British Championships. Both these tournaments won him crucial ranking points. At the Heart of England event he bounced back from losing his opening fight to battle through the repechage to the bronze medal fight before bowing out and at the British Championships he recorded a string of victories on his way to the semi-finals where his run was ended by eventual winner Scott Thomson. Comberton Judo Club’s head coach Darren Challis said: "Currently Ali is the hardestworking and most dedicated player we have, so selection is his reward for this.� REWARD: Ali Sheppard (right) has won England squad selection. Picture: Cambridge News
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